Nobody in that ward knew how to deal with peoples trauma, she says. Get botched by the butcher, get sued if you speak out. How many botched or dead patients one surgeon must have before we Let him know how urgent this is in volume. Many felt that going public about poor results may make it less likely for other surgeons to take on revisions, while official complaints to individual hospitals and state medical boards were lost in bureaucracy, misunderstood, or simply ignored. The next morning, she called the emergency number she had been given and sent an email to Dr. Rumers office. Dr. Kathy L. Rumer is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the Philadelphia tri-state area who has deep experience with gender reassignment surgery and a practice that is geared exclusively toward transgender patients. They went to all these conferences and stuff essentially to do marketing promotion of their work, says Green. Dr. Rumer is an experienced surgeon: he has run his own practice since 2007, has been treating transgender patients since 2016, and performs up to 400 gender-affirming procedures annually, including facial feminization, breast augmentation and GRS. These patients experiences and their difficulty finding recourse arent about one doctor. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Specialties: Dr. Rumer, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, is a renowned transgender surgical specialist. Dr. Kathy Rumer has 2 locations. Intersex people who have related surgical interests may post. Botched - Home | Facebook I live right near Manhattan. NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul dumps toxic Colorado political guru Adam Sullivan Dr. Kathy Rumer, DO - Cosmetic, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery I'm a 35-yr old trans-woman. (Like Alexis Lake, these guys are also deserving of some free publicity.) Dr Kathy Rumer is another "sex reassignment surgeon" who botched countless patients and gave many colostomy bags along with other life long complications. She has now consulted with, by her own count, 36 surgeons about fixing her genitalia. The modern technique for vaginoplasty was developed over 100 years ago in Europe and has been practiced in the United States for at least the last 50 years. But there are few standardized rules around what qualified means, and gender reassignment is plagued by issues that affect other areas of the medical industry. In a time when the Trump administration threatens to roll back a decade of progress around trans access to insurance coverage and Medicaid reimbursement, some worry about anti-transition media crusaders leveraging trans medical horror stories into political opposition against transitioning itself, as Heyer did. I found new doctors thanks to Reddit. Her office is still open for business and she still performing surgeries for profit. Individual hospitals are ultimately responsible for determining who has admitting privileges to perform certain procedures within their facilities. I'm not well. Now I can only get half-way to the first dot on my smallest purple dilator. It kept accruing secretions and urine and got really smelly and I was scared of the thing for like the first year, they say, until I figured out there wasnt supposed to be hair there.. While any surgery, especially one performed on the bodys most sensitive bits, carries risk theres nothing inherently dangerous about GRS for trans women. A few days later, Carlie and her mother say they heard from the doctor, who was on vacation and told Carlie she shouldnt be concerned. Then we were supposed to book for February or March, but her office simply couldn't figure out how to handle insurance, and THEN they put me on a wait list to have surgery on July 17, 2019. This is a good share: When Surgeons Fail Their Trans Patients by Katelyn Burns https://jezebel.com/when-surgeons-fail-their-trans-patients-1844774990?rev=1597854733082. Up until July 2018, Dr. Rumer told me how "beautifully" I was healing when I'd see her for a post-op check-up. People dont want to talk about complications in their marketing presentations.. According to the complaint, the defendants performed male-to-female gender reassignment surgery, a bilateral augmentation and related surgical procedures on Minto on July 12, 2016. Lets stand together apply that same fervor on the following people and organizations who have enabled and worse yet, stood by silent as people got victimized by this doctor and we dont give them an inch until they #DropRumer. This level of cruelty against a marginalized community is unbefitting of someone who performatively pretends to advocate for us. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It's time to take action. There is a larger concern that is poised to swell as demand for GRS grows: that without a specific reporting mechanism for patients who feel wronged or an institutional body tasked with regulating the specifics of trans-affirmative care, patients who seek these surgeries are locked in a devils bargain, unable to be assured of the quality of care when they sign on and unclear how to move forward when theyre unhappy with the results. Offices can vary widely when it comes to patient-to-doctor ratios and what kind of specialized training a surgeon receives. Dr. Kathy Rumer, DO / "The Butcher of Ardmore" / Rumer Gender Surgery I've explained to them every moment my symptoms have gotten worse and worse. A decent number of people do not use reddit and with how crippling dysphoria can be they may find themselves going to Rumer completely unaware of her history. It also alleged Dr. Rumer used pictures of another surgeons results, claiming them as her own. Patient says Rumer Cosmetic Surgery botched gender reassignment Established in 2007. I was like, I need to get a vagina before we have a Republican president, she told Jezebel in an interview in the spring of 2018. Jfc. Disclaimer: All of the phone numbers posted are their public business numbers. 1,516 talking about this. Rumer and her allies rely upon silence and fear. In July 2018, I had minor surgery right in her office to remove some granulation tissue. In response to several questions from Jezebel, Dr. Dugi says the hospital does not address specific patient interactions because of privacy laws but does admit the staff had several discussions with transgender patients. Ask them all about their participation in this case. There are lots of great gender-affirming surgeons in New York; I'm not transmasc so I can't recommend anyone for top surgery, but absolutely do not go with Rumer if you don't want to be mutilated. At this point, I can BARELY dilate. alleging that the . That seems like her go-to word for every check-up: "beautiful." In a follow-up appointment and then again in a subsequent email which Simpson shared with Jezebel, Dr. Rumer blamed the dead skin on a pair of too-tight Depends Simpson had worn in the hospital, which Simpson believes was a way to dodge the issue. (855) 782-5665. Some anti-trans activists create opposition to access to trans-affirming care by claiming treatments are experimental or too risky to be ethical, another obstacle when patients consider speaking openly about their experiences with individual surgeons. Part of Carlies vagina had been affected by necrotizing fasciitis, an infection thats a risk in any surgery. and our Worse yet, Lake is possibly getting kickbacks for every patient she refers to Rumer. Can't use BCC. lol. An anti-trans campaigner named Walt Heyer, according to several people involved, acquired notes from the meeting between patients and the hospital under false pretenses, promising legal help and support for detransitioning to one of the complainants. Privacy Policy. (THANK YOU!) According to a Jezebel article (which is predominantly about Rumer) It is next to impossible to hold doctors like Rumer accountable. She told me I needed surgery under "twilight sedation" to fix much deeper granulation tissue. Dr. Rumer was referring to World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH, the organization that sets out guidelines and best practices for trans-related health worldwide. This must stop immediately. (mass reporting these false positive reviews is also an option) Google means alot to Rumer, let's declaw her on this front. She holds degrees in mathematics, engineering and . On March 11, the surgeons attorney attempted to subpoena me based on an unfounded assumption that I was coordinating with this John or Jane Doe. As a surgeon I can tell you every surgeon has bad outcomes, Dr. Ting tells Jezebel. I've been in psychotherapy for many months because I basically received a sexual trauma instead of proper surgery with appropriate aftercare. Our surgeons strive for perfection, but occasionally there are complications, he says. For more information, please see our According to Carlie and her mother, Dr. Rumer snapped at them in a phone call with Carlies mother: I remember hearing it clear as day, says Carlie, who could overhear the conversation. Rogers Counsel, Rumers Right-Wing Attack Dogs: Did a loved one of yours recently have a surgery with Rumer that they are afraid to speak out about due to how litigious Kathy is? Until the powerful grow the spine to finally speak up the onus falls upon us to be the vanguard and defend our community from Rumer. Are You a Graphic Designer? She has not pursued any official avenues of complaint, worried that doing so would make it less likely that another surgeon would take on her case. Partners, caregivers, etc, with a legitimate interest in surgery may post if it's of clear benefit to a trans individual or the community. Rumer Cosmetic Surgery 105 Ardmore Ave Ardmore, PA 19003. ), filed by NICOLE COLEY. While the OSHU patients negotiated with hospital officials over possible reforms, some former patients of Dr. Rumer have taken more extreme action. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Some, like Gaines Blasdel, a consultant who worked in an LGBTQ primary care center helping patients access gender-affirming surgery and who organized the open letter to WPATH in 2018, suggest a centers of excellence model, in which insurance companies and professional organizations collaborate to ensure insurance would only be paid out to surgeons who participated in a dedicated program. One of the ways we create uniform standards has to be an open exchange of ideas, says Dr. Ting, of Mt. While these guidelines would improve the training quality across the country, it remains voluntary for individual hospitals and surgeons. Give her some free publicity). Audrina Minto, also known as Arturo Minto, filed a complaint July 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kathy Rumer, a reconstructive surgeon and aesthetician based in Philadelphia, agrees. Sinai. In late 2018, Heyer published the contents of the complaint he received in The Federalist, accusing the hospital of exploiting Medicaid patients to give Dr. Dugi early experience performing the procedure so he could move on to more lucrative patients. Feel free to make flyers to warn your local trans support groups and clinics. I note that while you are a self-described freelance journalist, you utilize the pronoun the plural pronoun we (e.g. If you think you can do better, why dont you just give her a vagina?. They dont make themselves available for trainings. Dr. Kathy Rumer is a leading aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon in the Philadelphia area who specializes in gender reassignment surgery. Thanks for other patients' medical records too. Recent attempts to quantify the learning curve for vaginoplasty have indicated that 40 procedures need to be performed to truly learn the technique. Dr. Kathy Rumer, DO | Ardmore, PA | Family Medicine | Vitals Each was represented by the same law firm, and alleged that Dr. Rumers work had been so poorly done in their cases it required the plaintiffs, all residents of New York City, to undergo revision surgery at Mt. Word of Mouth: In addition to putting pressure on Rumers allies, you can help put an end to Rumer's reign simply by just spreading the word. Dr. Schechter told Jezebel that hospital boards often require that a surgeon be certified by at least one of the 30 or so medical boards across the country and may have varying minimum training standards for potential surgeons. But according to Green, of WPATH, there are no medical boards that specifically certify individual surgeons for gender-related surgeries: I badgered the surgeons to get the societies, like the plastic surgery society, to try to figure out how to make this training part of the boards examination, so you could be board certified, he says. In or around 2019, Dr. Rumer discovered a website known as "Kathy Rumer's Anonymous", a . Dr. Rumer completely fucked up my body. we obtained, we were hoping) in your messages. Dr. Rumer declined to respond to Jezebels inquiries about her treatment of this or any of her other patients. Its their body and their right. But to make an informed choice about their bodies, he says, trans people would need more information about what happens when surgeries go awry. Constantly shifting insurance plans and laws governing insurers in the U.S. mean that trans people are often anxious to take on such procedures, fearing that while vetting a potential surgeon an insurance company might change its coverage rules. While insurance coverage for GRS has benefited countless lives, an unintentional side effect has been what Dr. Marci Bowers, a San Francisco-based gender surgeon who has been practicing for three decades, refers to as a culture of permissiveness: As far as an insurance company goes, if the patient survived the operation, leaves the hospital in a prescribed amount of time, and doesnt die of some hideous complication or is not readmitted multiple times, she says, that is their measure of success. Providers like Dr. Rumer, she says, understand the industry and sign contracts to become preferred providers, effectively funnelling new patients into their practice based on these metrics. Transgender questions; transgender answers. Petition Kathy Rumer Must Resign Change.org Her office accepts new patients. Fields marked with an * are required. Write to: The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Chairman, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 2242 Rayburn HOB, Washington, D.C 20515. Dr. Kathy Rumer, DO | Cosmetic, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in It seems likely Dr. Rumer would say, as she writes on her website and argued in court, that these complications are the result of poor adherence to her offices postoperative directions, or are part of the reasonable risk of any surgery of this kind. Tell her staff how you feel. And according to Green, theres little incentive for university hospitals and other medical research centers to invest in research and training on trans-related health issues if the government could turn around tomorrow and end multiple funding sources on the whims of an ideologically driven political appointee. Going to her resulted in totally botched up look and I look worse than I started with. ALBANY - A political guru recently exposed as a main adviser to Gov. The two had spoken on Skype a few months before the surgery but never had an in-person pre-op appointment. Advocates describe a patchwork of surgical practices and transgender centers for excellence overseen by local hospitals and state medical boards. This is not going to be easy for me to write, and it's really personal and gross. My symptons and complaints are WELL-DOCUMENTED in all of my emails to Dr. Rumer's office. PHILADELPHIA A patient is suing Dr. Kathy Rumer and Delaware Valley Aesthetics PLLC, which does business as Rumer Cosmetic Surgery, citing alleged medical negligence. Carlie chose a surgeon, Dr. Kathy Rumer, who was based in the Philadelphia area and specialized in gender-affirming procedures. Basically two steps forward, one step back, says former WPATH president and current communications director Jamison Green of the explosion in surgical growth. It's a joke. 17 Mar 2023 07:18:01 The Butcher of Ardmore has continued for long enough. - Kathy Rumer. Also, almost killed Diana Goetsch and Kelly Maloney. The subpoena originally asked me to appear at the office of Dr. Rumers attorney in Ardmore, Pennsylvania on April 2, but was subsequently canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This years Trans Health Conference in Philly should also be a priority. Protected by Google ReCAPTCHA. Dr. Kathy Rumer for top surgery? : r/asktransgender - Reddit The subpoena demanded I turn over all notes, emails, documents and research referencing Dr. Rumer or her practice. But running a training can be prohibitively expensive for an organization like WPATH, and attending the training remains optional and unpaid for surgeons who actually want to do the work. Schecter notes that postoperative travel and unclean or unsafe home environments may also contribute to complications, but ultimately its up to surgeons to counsel their patients and ensure these risk factors are minimized. Teri Rumer called me to cancel the surgery because I didn't weigh enough. 24 Sep 2022 19:13:22 Rule 5: This sub is by and for trans people. There needs to be a national organization of healthcare professionals. And even then, website administrators are sometimes nervous to host negative remarks against a specific surgeon, fearing a potential libel suit. I have literally emailed and called Dr. Rumer's office over 100 times. Its who decides how the operating theater in the hospital is going to be used, what kind of surgeries they are going to do., They make those decisions and we have to just live with it, he said, and work around these things., None of that matters to Carlie, who has scuttled plans for other transition-related surgeries, like facial feminization, thanks to her experience with Dr. Rumer. Most, understandably, declined to comment, but three who wished to remain anonymous had collectively seen more than 50 patients who had originally gone to Dr. Rumer for GRS since 2016. We all have complications, things dont always come out the way we want them to. TALK TO A REALSELF ADVISOR. Dr. Rumer has even blatantly admitted in court to her false advertising without consequence. Here is Mazzonis number, call them up and ask them why they wont denounce Rumer and continue to refer patients to her further endangering the community they claim to provide safe gender affirming care to. 105 Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, PA. 2.9 31 reviews. Privacy Policy. That took away my agency, changing around my story like that.. Worse yet, her help came from some of the very people we are supposed to trust . and our In her state, some gender affirming surgeries are covered by the states Medicaid program, but with trans healthcare a political target for the Republican party, Danielle felt some urgency to have it done quickly back in 2015. I had bottom surgery with Dr. Kathy Rumer in May 2017. I am completely unable to have sex, and it's driving me fucking crazy. Kathy Griffin has made a name for herself in the comedy industry and uses her celebrity encounters to make fans laugh during shows. Phone: (855) 782-5665. is a plastic surgeon who practices out of Ardmore, PA who routinely practices gender affirming surgery from questionable to downright horrific results. Please help! I'm sorry if this isn't the most well-written thing, or if there are gaps in my backstory. Schedule a Consultation Rumer Gender Surgery. She told me something, and then said she didn't say it. Medicaid sent her to see Dr. Daniel Dugi in Portland, who she says informed her that she was his 12th transgender vaginoplasty patient ever. Dr. Rumer has even expressed her own silent transphobia by using a stock photo of an androgynous male model to advertise facial feminization surgery in addition to the rest of the stock photos she uses to mislead people to the outcomes of her surgical results. 105 Ardmore Avenue. Over the course of 2018, four former patients of the surgeons filed separate malpractice suits in Pennsylvanias Eastern District court. A week after the conversation with Dr. Rumer, Carlie says she visited a local gynecologist, who was alarmed and brought Carlie to Oschner Baptist Hospital in New Orleans for emergency surgery. These two men are responsible for that fear, Lance Rogers and Joe Heffern. Kathy Rumer, DO Reviews, Before and After Photos, Answers - RealSelf Rumer goes, I followed the WPATH guidelines on how to treat my patients. In one case, according to a pre-trial memo, attorneys intended to bring Dr. Jess Ting, a surgeon and medical school professor specializing in GRS at Mt. It's hard to remember, but we were starting to discuss choosing a revision date right around the end of December 2018/early 2019. My dilators have 5 dots on them to measure depth. Any lawyers reading this??? That's my layperson understanding of this. The organization serves as an active gatekeeper, laying out strict guidelines for which patients are allowed access to transition-related surgical procedures, but it does not expressly oversee the practices that perform them. With no central database for reviews or information of trans-related surgical providers, trans people often depend on word of mouth between friends, social media, or trans-related message boards for feedback. I endured months of intense physical therapy and very uncomfortable tests to prepare for revision surgery. SHE WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE HEALING BEAUTIFULLY UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE. That email to me was the last straw. Many patients who go to Dr. Rumer for bottom surgery are happy with their results. Below are my current symptons. Her office is still open for business and she still performing surgeries for profit. Google Chad Kenney. Ive had all of this story, you know, weaponized against me, she says. If you think you can do better, why dont you just give her a vagina?. Spoiler: NSFW. This standard is followed by all medical centers and defined by national accrediting agencies, he says. This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the outcome of Hannah Simpsons surgery. I honestly lost a ton of weight from severe depression. A complaint she filed with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs resulted in no formal action. Patients of Rumer often have to undergo stressful and costly revision surgeries with other doctors. In regards to Mazzoni we also need to make sure Rumer is permanently banned from attending the annual Trans Health Conference (A wonderful place to distribute the new flyers we are currently producing.) She says her genitalia smelled horrible and her labia was hanging by a thin string of skin. Cookie Notice When she posted about her experience with Dr. Rumer on message boards in an attempt to warn other potential patients, Carlies words were reprinted on anti-trans forums. About 2 weeks before I was supposed to have revision surgery, Dr. Rumer's associate (or family member?) Kathy Rumer has left a trail of almost unspeakable atrocities in her wake from patients who lost sensation to patients who have had the wall between their vagina and their rectal area torn. . Adam Sullivan, 42, runs a small and little-known political . Do You Know of More Individuals or Organizations Who Have Shielded Rumer From Justice? : Rumer has resorted to taking out of state medicaid as a result of her dwindling reputation in PA. I had bottom surgery with Dr. Kathy Rumer in May 2017. But Danielle says this whole thing just sabotaged a whole year of work within the Portland trans community, adding that while things didnt turn out ideally, she doesnt regret her surgery. Kathy is having some hesitations before her double operation.. On Tuesday's episode of Botched, Dr. Paul Nassif agrees to repair patient Kathy's nose and perform a revision facelift after she . Every other week there is a new horror account on Reddit where someone comes out who was victimized by this doctor in her genocide against the trans community. RT @ShifterofShapes: Dr Kathy Rumer is another "sex reassignment surgeon" who botched countless patients and gave many colostomy bags along with other life long complications. Delaware County Memorial Hospital offers gender affirmation surgery The lack of doctors who perform GRS and the lengthy waiting lists mean people have few options to choose from when they go looking for a surgeon. Maybe they go and scrub in with one surgeon on one surgery and they say, Oh yeah, now I know how to do this. As one anonymous surgeon quoted in a 2017 survey put itsomeone is going to see someone with a reputable name; they learn for a week, and they start doing them. I kept insisting to them that I couldn't wait that long. Most of her patients including the defendants in an ongoing case are low income an According to her website, she is one of the few female board-certified plastic surgeons in the Philadelphia tri-state area, a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, and a site director for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship. Despite this, Rumer continues to dodge accountability for her actions, not only have a decades worth of complaints to medical boards, hospitals, and insurance companies fallen upon deaf ears, Dr. Rumer has had a total of four medical malpractice lawsuits against her, all of them resulting in a settlement. But the people who are not satisfied with their surgeries, at the hands of Dr. Rumer or others, have found it difficult to have their complaints meaningfully addressed. This means no city is safe from her reach. Up until July 2018, Dr. Rumer told me how "beautifully" I was healing when I'd see her for a post-op check-up. News - When Surgeons Fail Gender Confirmation Procedures for Their (If you really want to get her attention, her google reviews are also a good place to start. She is represented by Kristy Bruce of The Rubinstein Law Firm LLC in Hamilton, New Jersey. If you want to put pressure on the heads of Mazzoni individually, working from this list might help. For more information, please see our Rumer Cosmetic Surgery. On the trans-focused message board Susans Place, one of the only centralized repositories of reviews for surgeons, warnings against libel abound, particularly in the Facial Feminization Surgery sub-forum. Rumer - Transgender Surgery in Philadelphia with Gender Reassignment But they say that their frustration is also directed at the systemic issues surrounding procedures like these: The lack of doctors who perform GRS and the lengthy waiting lists that mean people like them have few options to choose from and not enough information when they go looking for a surgeon. (He says the model combatted similar problems within bariatric surgery in the early 2000s, providing concrete outcome data and tightening restrictions on a surgery once struggling with similar issues.) That seems like her go-to word for every check-up: "beautiful." In July 2018, I had minor surgery right in her office to remove some granulation tissue. Express your first amendment right and let them know what you think. PLLC, d/b/a Rumer Cosmetic Surgery, and Kathy Rumer, DO, FACOS, by and through their counsel, ROGERS CASTOR, hereby brings this action at law and respectfully aver the following facts: Page 5 .